Can we talk laundry?

[happymom]

The thread about the underwear drawer inspired me to ask all you organized ladies about your "system" for laundry. Here are my questions- they may sound really ridiculous to you, but I need help here!

Do you have specific days that you wash certain things? (like towels on Monday, linen on Tuesday etc)

Do you have a laundry basket in each bedroom, or one collective one for the whole family?

Do you have separate laundry baskets for darks/whites so everything is already sorted before you even have to wash it? Or do you have everything in one basket and then sort everything when its time to wash?

How do you actually bring the laundry to the washing machine? Do you transfer it from basket to bag, or do you shlep the actual basket?

Also, on the same topic, what do you all do about used towels- both in the kitchen and the bathroom? Do you put them in laundry baskets as they get used, or just take them straight from the hooks/kitchen and stick them in the wash?

Thanks!

[KrisM]

I have 4 laundry baskets and they are the tall cylindrical type. I have 3 in my closet - whites, lights, darks. I have the 4th in the hall and the kids all dump in there and every couple days, I sort into the ones in my closet.

I don't wash anything on specific days. Since things are already sorted, I just wash when one is full enough to be a full load. I do sheets and towels once a week when I have time.

I take the entire basket down to the laundry room and bring clean clothes up in the same basket.

[jgenie]

Do you have specific days that you wash certain things? (like towels on Monday, linen on Tuesday etc)

There are only 3 of us, so I can usually do our laundry in a day and a half. I try to wash, dry, fold and put away all in the same day - the exception being loads I put in before we go to bed that have to be dried or folded the next day. On Thursday night I wash the kitchen linens if the basket is full. I also sort DH & my laundry into baskets for washing on Friday. I try to get the kitchen linens in the dryer before bed and start a load of our clothes before bed. On Fridays, I wash the other load of our clothes, bed linens and towels. My goal is to have all the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away by bed time on Friday.

Do you have a laundry basket in each bedroom, or one collective one for the whole family?

We have a hamper in our bedroom, two laundry baskets nested inside each other in DS' closet, and a collapsible basket under the sink for kitchen linens.

Do you have separate laundry baskets for darks/whites so everything is already sorted before you even have to wash it? Or do you have everything in one basket and then sort everything when its time to wash?

I don't sort clothes until wash day - I prefer not having to think about where things go until wash day.

How do you actually bring the laundry to the washing machine? Do you transfer it from basket to bag, or do you shlep the actual basket?

I have 2 laundry baskets that live in the laundry room. I bring these up to sort DH / my laundry into and carry the baskets to and from the laundry room with clothes. When the wash is done the baskets are returned to the top of the washer.

I have 2 baskets in DS' closet - I sort his clothes and then carry the baskets to and from the laundry room with clothes. When the wash is done I nest one basket inside the other in his closet.

Also, on the same topic, what do you all do about used towels- both in the kitchen and the bathroom? Do you put them in laundry baskets as they get used, or just take them straight from the hooks/kitchen and stick them in the wash?

Both kitchen and bath towels are hung to dry - once dry they are placed in their respective hampers until wash day.

GL

[kijip]

My system:

My husband washes the laundry, folds it and puts it away. End of story.

I iron as needed. If we are crazy busy (say, post funeral) and he falls behind, I will push a load or 2 through.

Also, I wash the cloth diapers (did with T, and now again with F) because I kinda enjoy pre-stuffing/folding them and stacking them up in the drawers they go in. Yes, I am a dork. Though if I let it slide for some reason, my husband will do them.

ETA: The main reason that he acquired this job is that how things are folded really matters to him. And he is crazy good at it. Whereas with me, IF things (outside of towels and sheets) are folded barely matters. And I can't be bothered with things like "pre-treat" and he considers this very important. We operate on a "if you care the most about it/how it is done, then you get to do it system". This is why I do most of the deep cleaning. He cares about things looking clean, I care about them being REALLY clean, all in all a pretty good match. :)

[happymom]

My system:

My husband washes the laundry, folds it and puts it away. End of story.



Now THAT is a great system!!! :jammin:
We have quite a way to go till that ever happens around here! DH is already being sooo gracious :rolleye0014:and putting his darks and whites into separate baskets for me! Its difficult when youre throwing the laundry into the hamper from across the room! I know, poor thing.

[MontrealMum]

My DH :kisscheek: does the laundry too. It's a mystery to me how it all gets done :tongue5: It often happens on the weekend or very late at night and there seems to be much running up and down stairs because things get forgotten. My vote goes for Kris' sorting system :)

[niccig]

My system:

My husband washes the laundry, folds it and puts it away. End of story.

I iron as needed. If we are crazy busy (say, post funeral) and he falls behind, I will push a load or 2 through.



We have a similar system, except we usually fold together. However, sometimes DH needs to be reminded about the laundry as in "I'm wearing the last pair of underpants today, so either you put a load of washing on or I'm going commando tomorrow".

[lizajane]

i tried and tried to get DH to follow my system. but alas...

i like to have two baskets- one for darks and one for lights/whites- in our room and in the kids' room (they share.) but DH just doesn't get the point in this. he did think i should wash our stuff separate from kids' stuff to make folding and putting away easier. so i do that for the most part. but then he puts kids' stuff in our baskets because we all 4 share a bathroom. sigh.

i carry the basket down to the kitchen where the washer is. i often dump it all over the kitchen floor in sorted piles and then take the basket back up. we have several baskets that can be used for carrying clean laundry upstairs. but then the folded laundry usually sits. and sits. and sits. i left town for a week and ran out of time before i left to put away a basket of towels. when i came back, it was STILL SITTING at the foot of our bed. (really?? no kids, light work week and you can't put away a basket of towels??? and they were fiona's towels, she lives with us in the summers, so what on earth was she using for showers all week??)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Do you have specific days that you wash certain things? (like towels on Monday, linen on Tuesday etc)
-heck no- laundry is lucky to get done at all. Often on Sat. I have a marathon laundry day.

Do you have a laundry basket in each bedroom, or one collective one for the whole family?
-we have one in our room but that's it. Laundry chute in ds2's room and in kitchen.

Do you have separate laundry baskets for darks/whites so everything is already sorted before you even have to wash it? Or do you have everything in one basket and then sort everything when its time to wash?
- I do *not!* sort. It all gets washed together and that has worked out just fine. If there is some special item that I know needs special care then I just pull it out when I am putting stuff in. Everything (except sheets and towels) goes on cold/ cold, low heat to dry.

How do you actually bring the laundry to the washing machine? Do you transfer it from basket to bag, or do you shlep the actual basket?
-Love my laundry chute!! It stays in the chute till I am ready for it.

Also, on the same topic, what do you all do about used towels- both in the kitchen and the bathroom? Do you put them in laundry baskets as they get used, or just take them straight from the hooks/kitchen and stick them in the wash?
-I reuse them as long as possible. After that I let them dry before putting them down the laundry chute.

I wish I had a dumb waiter for bringing the laundry back upstairs. Too often the laundry sits folded, hung and waiting to go in the basement for a week+ b/c no one carries it upstairs.

Beth

[o_mom]

I don't have a specific day for any laundry.

We have a basket in our closet and a hamper in the hall for the kids.

I carry the basket to the laundry room to sort (I have two three-section sorters in there), the hamper I usually sort in the hall and then put in the sorters in the laundry room (5 ft away).

Kitchen towels go in a small basket in the kitchen when dirty. Usually right before I do a load of towels I run through and snag all the towels from the kitchen and bathrooms towel racks to throw in.

[specialp]

The thread about the underwear drawer inspired me to ask all you organized ladies about your "system" for laundry. Here are my questions- they may sound really ridiculous to you, but I need help here!

Do you have specific days that you wash certain things? (like towels on Monday, linen on Tuesday etc)
Monday & Thursday - everything gets washed; Thursdays also are bed linens. Iron on Friday. I've done my system since college (Mon. & Thurs. were my days off from Work, and have never changed.
Do you have a laundry basket in each bedroom, or one collective one for the whole family?
Yes. All rooms. It seems there's no chance of it getting in a basket unless there's a basket 5 ft. away.
Do you have separate laundry baskets for darks/whites so everything is already sorted before you even have to wash it? Or do you have everything in one basket and then sort everything when its time to wash?
All in the same basket - sort later.
How do you actually bring the laundry to the washing machine? Do you transfer it from basket to bag, or do you shlep the actual basket?
Just take the baskets
Also, on the same topic, what do you all do about used towels- both in the kitchen and the bathroom? Do you put them in laundry baskets as they get used, or just take them straight from the hooks/kitchen and stick them in the wash?
Very small container (like a storage container) is kept under the kitchen sink for those towels . . . came up with that a/f a Mom on here suggested it. Other towels just go in the basket with the rest of the laundry, usually in the basket in the bathroom.

[Melaine]

Do you have specific days that you wash certain things? (like towels on Monday, linen on Tuesday etc)
I pretty much wash twice a week. Usually it's like Monday and Thursday/Friday. I wash everything on those two days.

Do you have a laundry basket in each bedroom, or one collective one for the whole family?
We have a trash can in our bathroom and one in our DC's room. I have no recollection of why we started using trashcans, but we did. I think I bought a trashcan for our kitchen and hated it after about 20 minutes so decided it was going to be a hamper instead. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-2806-TP-WHT36-Quart-White-Wastebasket/dp/B001EI2FQE/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1247230372&sr=8-32 but it has a flip top.
Do you have separate laundry baskets for darks/whites so everything is already sorted before you even have to wash it? Or do you have everything in one basket and then sort everything when its time to wash?
I sort everything when it's time to wash. I pick up the trash cans and dump them on the floor in the hall (my laundry room is a tiny closet in between our bedrooms). I sort them into three piles: warm, cold and towels/sheets/rags/napkins (which I also wash warm or hot).

How do you actually bring the laundry to the washing machine? Do you transfer it from basket to bag, or do you shlep the actual basket?
I just dump the trashcans on the floor in the hall. This is easy, it's about 3 steps from my room and 5 from the girls' room!

Also, on the same topic, what do you all do about used towels- both in the kitchen and the bathroom? Do you put them in laundry baskets as they get used, or just take them straight from the hooks/kitchen and stick them in the wash?
I pull all the bathroom towels on washday and immediately wash them. The kitchen stuff gets taken to the laundry room much more often, sometimes I start the rags or napkins soaking in the wash.

[m448]

Similar to Kris I keep several of these in my master closet.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml;jsessionid=AAU2FRBPYGMVOCQIUB2CHPQKB CQGIJCK?prodId=HPProd150094

Everyone's clothes gets sorted as we go into one of these hampers/baskets. I sort whites, dark/underwear/PJs, lights, darks and jeans. Sheets are washed as needed and I have a hanging bag in my master bath for dirty (but dry) towels.

Whenever a load fills up we wash. Those hampers about 3/4 full make a load for my humongo front loader. I also wash diapers and I have a small hamper in the kitchen for cloth towels and cloth napkins. In my home we have at least two loads of laundry a day since diapers are every other day and kitchen cloths are usually every 3 days or so.

I detest folding so we hang up everything on hangers except underwear, towels and kitchen linens. I had DH install more shelving and a hanging bar under the shelves in the laundry room so everything gets hung up in there and then they just go in the closet. We're about to install more shelving the length of the garage and I'm having DH install another super long length of hanging bar under those to hang clothes to dry. I find that tumbling things for 10 minutes or so in the dryer, hanging/smoothing, then letting them dry fully on the hanger looks nicer. I don't iron except for my sewing since I hate that even more than folding.

[AnnieW625]

I usually try to do laundry on Saturday or Sundays, but then some times it piles over to the beginning of the week. When one of us is getting low on underwear I know it's time to do laundry again!

We have one of those three divided carts (from Costco) and Elisa has a hamper in her room. I sort clothes by color (lights, darks, and jeans) and then again by water temp.; I try to do all the same temp laundry back to back (usually three loads of cold, two loads of warm, and one hot) so I don't have to switch the water temp after each load. Then I always do my whites last since it's the only load I use hot water for. Then if I have towels and sheets I'll do those once all of the clothes are done.

[JTsMom]

I have 3 hampers right in my laundry room, and 1 basket. The hampers are color-coded, so they are DH and DS-proof. ;) They aren't pretty and matchy, but I don't care. There's a pink one for bright colors, a dark blue for darks, and a green one for towels/whites (I buy all white towels). The basket is for delicates, and stuff that need stain treatment. Everyone sorts their own stuff, and I can easily see when there's enough to do a load. I used to have an extra one in the bathrom, but it was a pita. Sheets, rugs and blankets get thrown right in. We also use kitchen towels/washcloths/rags instead of paper towels, and those are different colors- I throw them in with the clothes, unless they are particullarly gross.

I don't have a particular day- I just throw in a load when I see there are enough clothes. Sheets I just aim for something in the neighborhood of once a week, but it's not exact. I do them when I have time. I almost never have a backup, and if I do, it's b/c we were on vacation or something.

DS loves to help with laundry- he is my official washcloth folder, and he takes great pride in it. :love-retry: He will take stuff out of the dryer for me, and throw it on the couch, and we fold together. He also helps put away anything that goes in a drawer.

I also keep hangers in the laundry room, and I hang stuff up right away so it doesn't get wrinkled. I very rarely iron anything.

This is so Duggarish, but all of our hanging stuff is in one closet right now, just b/c we have one GIANT closet, and a couple other tiny ones. That makes life really easy too.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I have one hamper in our room and all dirty clothes go there, including the kids. (they are usually getting dressed in our room anyway)

on Saturdays I sort it into three piles on the bed, underwear/socks for hot, jeans for cold, and all other clothes for cold. (doing the jeans separately keeps them from putting holes in the other clothes). I run all three loads and if there is time I do a load of towels, by going through the bathrooms and gathering them all up. If not, that gets done some other day or the following week.

I have no idea what my teenage son does, but once in awile a pile of clothes comes out of his room, hangs out on the laundry room floor, and eventually makes it back up to his room. I've seen him pull things out of the pile on the laundry room floor too, so that might be where it goes when it comes out of the dryer. He throws it all in together and his clothes look okay so maybe all this sorting is really not necessary.

[egoldber]

You guys are way too complicated. Laundry would never get done in my house with these systems!!!

Once a week-ish, DH and I do combined loads, one light-ish and one color-ish.

Each kid has a hamper in their room. When their hamper is full or they run out of underwear (whichever comes first), I do their laundry. I wash them all together regardless of color. This way we don't have to sort their laundry into which kid is which. I can do this no problem, but DH has issues separating the almost 8 year old's clothes from the 2 year old's clothes. Sigh.

I have a separate hamper for towels. When it's full, we wash towels.

[AngelaS]

I have a basket in our bathroom and the girls'. All dirty clothing gets tossed in those, except for kitchen rags/towels which go straight into the washer.

On laundry day, I carry down the two baskets, throw the whites in the washer and the sort the other clothes on the floor of the laundry room. :)

I tend to do bedding on days that aren't my typical laundry days (in other words, they don't get washed weekly). The dog's blankets get washed on Sunday--that's when she gets her weekly bath. :)

[KrisM]

My DH :kisscheek: does the laundry too. It's a mystery to me how it all gets done :tongue5: It often happens on the weekend or very late at night and there seems to be much running up and down stairs because things get forgotten. My vote goes for Kris' sorting system :)

Wow! It's rare that I have something running well enough that someone else likes it!

[Moneypenny]

I have 4 baskets in the laundry room - delicates, lights, darks, towels. DH and I have a hamper in our room and DD has a hamper in her room. On Saturdays I lug the hampers down to the laundry room, sort and wash. I generally do a couple loads on a Saturday and a couple on Sunday. I generally get around to folding and putting away by the following Thursday, lol!

Kitchen towels or washclothes that are still wet when they go in the basket just get thrown down the basement stairs (we have an unfinished basement) or draped over the edge of the laundry basket so they can dry out nd not get stinky.

[lilycat88]

We have a hamper in our bathroom and a bag for the dry cleaners (I won't wash/iron shirts). DD has a hamper in her room. A couple of times a week I will take the hampers down to the laundry room and sort. I love having our laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms. We have 2 of the 3 section carts. It gets divided like this:

Darks washed in cold...some things hang to dry.
Colors washed in warm...all go to the dryer.
Whites washed with bleach and on hot...all to dryer.
Colors washed in cold (mainly work pants/khakis)...hung to dry.
Towels/linens washed in hot...dried.
Other...things that are hand washed or otherwise need special tretment.

Generally, I do all of he sorting so I can pretreat things if needed. Having each section sorted like that means DH can do laundry and has less of a chance of screwing it up. He knows to stay away from the "other" bin and to pay attention to the dark load to make sure he doesn't put something in the dryer that isn't meant to be. So, four of the six bins are idiot proof.

I try very hard to fold as clothes come out of the dryer and put them in baskets. Generally, I have 4 laundry baskets lined up. One for things that go to our room, one for DD room, one for linens/towels and one for things that go downstairs.

I may do a load during the week but most laundry is done on the weekend and put into the baskets and put away on Sunday evening. I'm lucky to have a huge laundry room so I can just leave things out.

[MontrealMum]

Wow! It's rare that I have something running well enough that someone else likes it!

It seems very logical and organized to me - yet not complicated - which is something I really like :)
If I ever go back to doing the laundry again (it's been DH's "job" for about 6 yrs now) I would certainly look into implementing it!

[mommylamb]

DH and I both do laundry depending on who notices the basket is getting full and/or who wants to wear something that's dirty. Laundry is one of the only chores I do though (my DH is very anal and wants to do everything himself, so I oblige him.;))

We have one hamper in our room, one in DS's room and one in the guest bathroom for towels. We don't have specific days that laundry gets done. I don't see laundry as a difficult chore at all.

I usually transfer laundry from the hamper in our room or in DS's room to a laundry basket and bring it down. The laundry basket for the towels is easy to bring down itself, so no transfer necessary.

Usually, I do DS's clothes separately but not always. He usually has enough for a full load by himself. I wash DH's and my clothes together, but I separate whites from colors most of the time (DH always does).

I also hang pretty much everything other than towels, DS's clothes, and our socks and underwear. Dryers use so much energy it just seems very wasteful to me. So, I will often wait to dry our colors until I've washed the whites so I can put the what goes in the dryer from both loads together. DH doesn't do that.

One of my big pet peeves is the rule in my homeowners association against hanging your wash outside. Seems classist to me and what a waste of energy. We a have a poor little maiden in our laundry room that is always over burdened with clothes drying...

[HIU8]

I'm probably alone in this. I do laundry daily. I do towels and underwear and pj's (the kids). About every 2-3 days I do a dark load. Each kid has a hamper in their room. I empty it into my hamper each morning. Then I take my hamper to the laundry room and separate it into my 3 section bin. I work from home while DS is in summer camp and DD is at daycare, so I do laundry while at home and fold either right before or after dinner. I cannot function with mounds of laundry to do once a week. I tried this and it actually made me anxious. My mom does laundry this way and my grandmother did, so I guess it is ingrained.

[elektra]

You guys are way too complicated. Laundry would never get done in my house with these systems!!!

Once a week-ish, DH and I do combined loads, one light-ish and one color-ish.

Each kid has a hamper in their room. When their hamper is full or they run out of underwear (whichever comes first), I do their laundry. I wash them all together regardless of color. This way we don't have to sort their laundry into which kid is which. I can do this no problem, but DH has issues separating the almost 8 year old's clothes from the 2 year old's clothes. Sigh.

I have a separate hamper for towels. When it's full, we wash towels.
:yeahthat:

[salsah]

i have two baskets in my closet for all of our clothes and one in the laundry room for rags/napkins/kitchen towels. one is for whites and one is for other. if i ahd space, i would add a third so that the "other" can be split between darks and pink/red so that i won't have to sort them. although i still sort the whites because DH (and dds) can never seem to manage to get things in the right one.

i do one load per day (which ever is biggest or needs to be done because someone needs something). sheets are done on Thursday and bath towels are done on tuesday (i have to assign a day to them or else i would forget to do them).

[mamicka]

Dryers use so much energy it just seems very wasteful to me. So, I will often wait to dry our colors until I've washed the whites so I can put the what goes in the dryer from both loads together.
...
One of my big pet peeves is the rule in my homeowners association against hanging your wash outside.

:yeahthat: I would love to hang my laundry outside.

We basically do what KrisM does as well. I would love to do it more like Beth (egoldber) but I'm paranoid about washing darks & lights together.

[egoldber]

I would love to do it more like Beth (egoldber) but I'm paranoid about washing darks & lights together.

I've been doing it this way for over 20 years. Come to the dark side.... ;)

[mamicka]

I've been doing it this way for over 20 years. Come to the dark side.... ;)

I'm seriously considering it. I've got a hamper full of kid's clothes right now... LOL!

[bubbaray]

I love doing laundry. I don't mind folding it. I HATE putting it away.... I refuse to iron.

*I* am the only one who touches the washing machine in our house. DH d/n know how to use it and the few times I've been soooo sick I couldn't (hello, rotovirus and mastitis), he screwed it up.

Basically, I follow lilycat's routine. I wash the girls' colored and my colored laundry together, everyone's whites together and mine and DH's darks separately. Generally, I wash my clothes and the girls' clothes together and DH's separately. I have three words for why: stinky socks and skidmarks. :barf: I also wash cold water/no dryer items separately (like Lululemon and DriFit workout clothes).

For linens, I generally wash things and put them back where I got them (ie., I don't use linens from the linen closet if I can help it). See item #1 -- I hate folding laundry. So I'd rather just wash it and put it back on the bed or towel rack without folding. Easier for me.

I only wash full loads. I do a lot of laundry. Like HIU8, I do laundry pretty much daily. I find it relaxing -- mounds of laundry stresses me out. I like to start the laundry as soon as we return from vacation.

I can't wash whites with colors nor medium colors with darks. I've tried. I just can NOT do it. Either my whites look dingy or my darks get little white fluff balls on them, which drives me bananas.

Once in law school, I did 10 loads of laundry for a fellow student in return for unlimited access to his CD collection so I could make a mixed tape. :jammin:

[hillview]

I have some hampers but don't usually use them. The dirty clothes get gathered every morning and go into the wash. I do a load *every* morning before making breakfast. If I have a bunch of towels, I will try to sepearate but often a white gets tossed into the colors. If it is a white shirt, I do a separate load. Clean clothes end up on the couch until DH puts them away (or sometimes the babysitter does). It works for us. We have a HE washer, I use the quick wash cycle (takes 30 mins). Usually the washer is 3/4 full -- sometimes more, sometimes less.
/hillary

[hellokitty1]

Copied one of my posts from an earlier thread on time savers:

I tend to do laundry when I can get a full load as opposed to just always doing it on a certain days and having many loads but not all full. So I went out and got some wire shelving from Target and lots of square laundry baskets that fit on the shelves. I labeled each basket with the kind of clothes that go in it, for example, Darks, Whites, Lights, Sheets, Towels, Delicates. I went over the baskets with DD AND DH and gave examples of what went in each. DD's bathroom is right next to the laundry room so I have her take her dirty clothes directly to the laundy room and don't bother with a hamper for her. For the first few days, she'd ask which basket her clothes go in just to be sure she was doing it right. And now she knows and it's great that her dirty laundry goes right into the correct dirty basket. DH also will empty out our hamper into the correct dirty basket. So now I can easily tell which baskets are full and ready for a wash and they are already pre-sorted.

The other thing I do is use different baskets for clean laundry out of the dryer. That way the labeled baskets are always in the laundry room ready to collect more dirty clothes and there is no confusion over whether a basket of clothes is clean or dirty. If I happen to be doing a bunch of loads in a row, I sometimes sort the laundry as I take it out of the dryer and then wait til i have a few baskets and start folding. that way, each basket is just going to one destination.

The one final thing is that I find that if you get clothes immediately out of the dryer or only partially dry them you can hang them to avoid wrinkles and ironing. So we put up one hanging shelf to hang up fresh clothes to avoid wrinkles. my pet peeve with dh is when he shoves all the clothes in the dryer into a basket and everything is wrinkled. I'm by no means an ironing freak but i'd prefer our clothes not

[salsah]

I love doing laundry. I don't mind folding it. I HATE putting it away.... I refuse to iron.

*I* am the only one who touches the washing machine in our house. DH d/n know how to use it

For linens, I generally wash things and put them back where I got them (ie., I don't use linens from the linen closet if I can help it). See item #1 -- I hate folding laundry. So I'd rather just wash it and put it back on the bed or towel rack without folding. Easier for me.

I only wash full loads. I do a lot of laundry. Like HIU8, I do laundry pretty much daily. I find it relaxing -- mounds of laundry stresses me out. I like to start the laundry as soon as we return from vacation.

I can't wash whites with colors nor medium colors with darks. I've tried. I just can NOT do it. Either my whites look dingy or my darks get little white fluff balls on them, which drives me bananas.


:yeahthat: this is me, exactly.

my bottle neck is putting clothes way. the basket for the clean clothes fills up and then i pile on top of it, and then on top of the drier, and hang them off of the ironing board (which i can do since i rarely use it) . . .

if i couldn't do the laundry, dh would wear dirty clothes before trying to do the laundry himself.

the linens in my linen closet haven't been touched in years. sheets go off the bed, into the washer, into the drier, back onto the bed. same for the bath towels. it is a time saver. when dd has an accident in the middle of the night, instead of changing her sheets, i take the dirty ones off and toss them in the wash. she spends the rest of the night in our bed or on the floor. the next morning, when the sheets have been washed and dried, they go back on her bed.

[bubbaray]

I should have added that I have a reasonably sized laundry room and each person has their own basket for clean, folded laundry. When that basket is full, in theory, that person puts their laundry away. DD#1 does hers and I help her with DD#2s. DH, OTOH, has at least 2 baskets of folded, clean laundry that he hasn't put away yet.

I also have a HUGE drying rod with about 50 hangers on it, as well as a large folding drying rack. We don't have an outside drying rack, but are considering it. It rains a lot here, so probably wouldn't justify the work to put it in.

[happymom]

Thanks everyone! I finally had time to read through this whole thread. So interesting to see how everyone finds something different that works for them. Here are the changes I have made based on all your input:
- I placed a small basket under the kitchen sink for dirty kitchen towels, and used bibs. Such a simple solution! Makes me wonder why I didnt think of it!
- I now have 3 laundry baskets in my master bedroom- one for whites, one for darks, and one for delicates. All DH has to do is sort his darks from whites. He doesnt have anything "delicate". LOL. So far this is working out well for us- although Dh still grumbles a bit about having to sort his stuff. But on the other hand, he knows it makes things easier for me. This is working out great because
a) its easy for me to see when laundry needs to be done and which load needs to be done
b) Its much easier to just "throw in" a load. In the past, it was always a whole ordeal cuz everything needed to be sorted first.
c) I always hated sorting things into piles everywhere. This just seems so much neater and more efficient.

Btw, we are using these pop-up mesh laundry baskets (they come in different colors so its easy to sort).
http://www.target.com/Home-Niches-Dual-Pop-Up-Hamper/dp/B001TK0GB8/sr=1-6/qid=1247441319/ref=sr_1_6/182-7132439-2080645?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=0&rh=k%3Apop%20up&page=1
Theyre not as nice looking as reg laundry baskets, but I find they are so much easier to lug up and down the 2 flights of stairs from my bedroom to my laundry room. Theyre so lightweight! Besides, my laundry baskets are in a nook area of my bedroom so theyre not so noticeable anyways. Best part is, theyre collapsible. So you can buy extras and just keep them flat till you need them and theyre totally out of the way.

Anyways, thanks to all of you for all the great input!!!! :bighand:And my DH thanks you too. You have made his wife a bit more sane and organized than before. Although that doesnt take much :wink2:

[neeleymartin]

Do you have specific days that you wash certain things? i wash things when i am out of something. however, lately, i am trying to stay on top of things.

Do you have a laundry basket in each bedroom, or one collective one for the whole family? the laundry baskets scattered throughout my house are generally filled with clean clothes that are wrinkled and not folded out of the dryer. my drawers are so full there is no room. my plan for the next few days is to do a massive cleaning. i am sure that i will never be a size 4 again.:ROTFLMAO:

Do you have separate laundry baskets for darks/whites so everything is already sorted before you even have to wash it? Or do you have everything in one basket and then sort everything when its time to wash? i just wash things when i get around to it

How do you actually bring the laundry to the washing machine? Do you transfer it from basket to bag, or do you shlep the actual basket? we throw the dirty clothes down the basement stairs into a giant pile. when the pile is too big to step over, i sort into generally two piles (color and bleach, i can't let the bleach go), then carry it all to the washing machine (not in a basket, remember those are filled with clean clothes upstairs) about 15ft away, hoping not to drop it all.

Also, on the same topic, what do you all do about used towels- both in the kitchen and the bathroom? Do you put them in laundry baskets as they get used, or just take them straight from the hooks/kitchen and stick them in the wash? these get thrown down the stairs on a daily basis. just like dirty clothes.

i am sure that nothing i have shared will help you become a better housewife. man, it felt good to get it off my chest. hopefully, posting this will help me get my butt in gear with cleaning.